NASA's Webb Telescope Launches to See First Galaxies, Distant Worlds

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope launched at 7:20 a.m. EST Saturday on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, South America. A joint effort with ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency, the Webb observatory is NASA’s revolutionary flagship mission to seek the light from the first galaxies in the early universe and to explore our own solar system, as well as planets orbiting other stars, called exoplanets. “The James Webb Space Telescope represents the ambition that NASA and our partners maintain to propel us forward into the future,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

Sporty Aircraft Engine Offers Up To 800W With No Added Weight

Rotax unveiled another option for its range of light aircraft engines with a 24 volt option on its 915iS. The change will "provide pilots with a wide range of opportunities to upgrade their cockpits and flying experience - without added engine weight." The new 915iS C24 enables aircraft to operate 24V aircraft board systems, digital displays, glass cockpits, and reserves for auxiliary instruments, tablets, and gadgets. Fancy, big screen panels are a popular change on the flight deck, but support for portable accoutrements is exciting to a general aviation population that has become enthralled by their multifunction devices. The electronic flight bag has become an invaluable, near e

Prototype 3-Stream Adaptive Cycle Turbine Moves to Next Phase of Testing for F-35 Re-Engine

GE has completed the initial phase of testing on its XA100 adaptive cycle engine made under the U.S. Air Force's Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP). The development process on the groundbreaking engine is hoped to lead the way to a replacement engine for the F-35A and F-35C without requiring any structural modifications to either aircraft. The re-engine should grant the fighters better range, acceleration, and cooling to accommodate next-gen mission systems. 

No Religious Exemptions Granted So Far, 17,000 Airmen of Unknown Status Remain

The Covid vaccination saga continues in the armed forces, with the notice that the United States Air Force and Space Force commands have turned down thousands of requests for religious exemptions to the vax mandate while approving none. Servicemen felt they were home free when submitting their paperwork, but the service feels that none of them have shown an "honest, consistent" religious attitude towards the vaccine. Those denied may still appeal the decision up the chain to the Surgeon General of the Air Force, but the DAF has also refused to grant a single exemption, with 135 denied. Those whose appeals are denied may retire, if able, or choose to separate. Those

Reusable "Novel" Rocket Design Raises $65 Million

Stoke Space Technologies has broken ground at their Moses Lake, Washington facility, beginning work on a planned expansion that will grow to include additional rocket technicians, test engineers, and project managers. The introductory sale of company stock has brought in $65 million in funding to continue its development on a greener, more environmentally friendly launch vehicle. The company intends to create a "fully and rapidly reusable" launch system that "will provide low-cost, on-demand access to and from any location in orbit," including low-earth orbit, geostationary points, and eventually, lunar orbit.

From 2014: An Exercise In Elegant Simplicity... AND Affordable Fun!

Model airplanes and ultralights are close cousins, and you’ll see what we mean by that in this video. ANN CEO and Editor-In-Chief, Jim Campbell took the opportunity to talk with Brian Carpenter while at the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo 2014. Carpenter’s Rainbow Aviation Services specializes in sport pilot training but they got their start with ultralights. Carpenter is convinced that ultralights still represent the perfect first step into piloting an aircraft. He also recognizes that ultralights have become scarce and he has an electrifying solution to fix that.

AD 2021-26-13 Prompted By The Manufacturer Revising The Engine TLM Life Limits Of Certain Critical Rotating Parts

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for all Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG (RRD) Trent 1000-A2, Trent 1000-AE2, Trent 1000-C2, Trent 1000-CE2, Trent 1000-D2, Trent 1000-E2, Trent 1000-G2, Trent 1000-H2, Trent 1000-J2, Trent 1000-K2, and Trent 1000-L2 model turbofan engines. This AD was prompted by the manufacturer revising the engine Time Limits Manual (TLM) life limits of certain critical rotating parts, updating direct accumulation counting (DAC) data files, and updating certain maintenance tasks. This AD requires revision of the engine TLM life limits of certain critical rotating parts and DAC data files,

AD 2021-26-08 Requires Removing Certain Nuts From Service, Installing Newly Designed Nuts...

The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Bell Textron Canada Limited Model 206, 206A, 206A-1, 206B, 206B-1, 206L, 206L-1, 206L-3, and 206L-4 helicopters. This AD was prompted by reports of cracked or missing nuts on the tail rotor drive shaft (TRDS) disc pack (Thomas) couplings. This AD requires removing certain nuts from service, installing newly designed nuts, and applying a specific torque and a torque stripe to each newly installed nut. This AD then requires, after the installation of each newly designed nut, inspecting the torque and, depending on the inspection results, either applying a torque stripe or performing further i

Aero Linx: International Cooperation on Airport ATM Systems The “International Cooperation on Airport ATM Systems” (ICAS) is a user group of Airport ATM service providers, represented by Airports and Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) being responsible for the implementation and the use of Airport ATM systems. The scope of the ICAS group is to support the different stakeholders, Airports, ANSPs and other organizations in the planning, implementation and integration of current and future systems and procedures at an airport environment, covering all phases of the ground and air movement.

Lost Communications Loss of the ability to communicate by radio. Aircraft are sometimes referred to as NORDO (No Radio). Standard pilot procedures are specified in 14 CFR Part 91. Radar controllers issue procedures for pilots to follow in the event of lost communications during a radar approach when weather reports indicate that an aircraft will likely encounter IFR weather conditions during the approach.

“I want to congratulate the team on this incredible achievement – Webb’s launch marks a significant moment not only for NASA, but for thousands of people worldwide who dedicated their time and talent to this mission over the years. Webb’s scientific promise is now closer than it ever has been. We are poised on the edge of a truly exciting time of discovery, of things we’ve never before seen or imagined.” Source: Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, speaking out after the NASA James Webb Space Telescope launched at 7:20 a.m. EST Saturday on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, South America.